Healing
by cherryblossoms13
Summary: One year into the timeskip, Sakura is still struggling with Sasuke leaving Konoha. Will she ever heal, or will she find peace with a friend? OneShot warning: spoilers, depending how far you are in Naruto


Sakura dried her tears with her glove. It was almost embarrassing now; she hadn't cried this much for a long time.

One year. One whole year since Sasuke ran away.

Countless times she had gone over why he did- because in the end, she couldn't stop him.

"Sakura… Thank you."

His last words swirled in her mind, although she could never fathom their meaning.

Above her the wind whistled through the leaves. Sakura was sitting on a wodden bench, in front of a small tree grove by the path. It was early evening, and overhead the sky was actually cloudy in Konoha.

But now she was a stronger person.

_I have trained hard- because the next time I see him, I wont let him slip past me without a fight. __When Naruto gets back… I'll make sure we find him. Sasuke…_

The tears started to well up in her eyes again.

When she was younger, she admitted that her feelings for him were little more than a crush. But what she never told Ino was after those years- after being so close to Sasuke, day in, day out; training by him… She began to feel something more. Sakura's mind mused back to the day when Suna turned on Konoha on the Chunnin exams. Sasuke was lying on a thick tree-branch, and only yards away the monster Gaara was transforming before her eyes.

She saw him- she saw Sasuke fight. Now his energy was spent, he had pushed himself too far, as always…

But it was when Gaara snarled and leapt at him when her heart really snapped. Sasuke lay there helpless- so she did the first thing she could think of. There was no way in _hell_ she was going to let that guy kill Sasuke- unless he killed his way through her first. She didn't really care if she died- as long as her efforts were not in vain, and her love was safe.

Sakura was pulled back into the present by a cold wind. Sasuke had left her… and Naruto had gone too: she knew he was training, like she; but it was hard not having those two goofs around.

Konoha almost seemed boring.

Helping around in the hospital, occasionally training with Kakashi, accompanying groups of ninjas on small missions, incase they needed a medic. The year seemed to go by as all years did- slowly, but before she knew it Sakura was a year older.

"Sakura-san?"

Sakura whipped around, immediately finding the source of the voice.

She smiled earnestly, and patted the empty space next to her on the bench.

"Lee-kun! I haven't seen you in awhile…!"

Lee smiled kindly in return- he had tried to ignore the woebegone expression on Sakura's face as he passed by, feeling as if he was intruding. Now he was happy he stopped- the look in her green eyes was bright.

He nodded as he sat down. "I was just passing by…" he motioned to the bags he had set down. "… Going to take these to Kurenia's team. We were all going to train together afterward." He smiled.

Even now, it was a little embarrassing to be around Rock Lee. Sakura tried to hide her embarrassed blush- like her; his feelings had obviously developed from,

"You are so pretty! Would you like to go out with me?! Ill protect you with my life!"

_But unlike my own emotional bursts about Sasuke; Lee thankfully hasn't tried to make a move, or ask me out again or anything… He only watches from afar. _

They both sat there in silence. It was a nice, peaceful silence; but Sakura didn't feel like worrying about Sasuke.

"Taking a break?" Lee asked, referring to her duties at the hospital.

"Yeah…," she smiled.

"…I hope I'm not interrupting anything…"

"Oh! No…" Sakura laughed a little, flipping back her hair.

She bit her lip, her eyes suddenly downcast again.

_Shit. This is stupid. Why are girls so emotional?!_ Sakura thought. _The last thing I want to do is cry in front of someone else._

Lee watched some birds pecking at the dirt not far away, trying not to watch Sakura lift her head up and look to the sky. It was obvious she was hoping her eyes could soak up the extra moisture- she was trying hard not to let the tears fall.

There was another silence as Lee gazed at the sparrows. There was two of them, one of them hopping around, the other looking for something to eat. Suddenly, the bird who had been jumping about the place took off into the nearby trees. The other sparrow looked up, twisting its small head around sharply to see. It hopped forward a bit, than spread its wings, twittering as it followed the other bird.

Sakura laughed , and Lee turned to look at her quixotically.

Tears were rolling down her face again, this time in torrents. Sakura tried to laugh again, but it came out as a choked whine.

"Sakura-san!! Are you alright?!" he shifted in his seat, unknowing of what to do.

She nodded weakly and tried to hide behind her pink hair. She wasn't alright, it was straightforwardly obvious; but Lee couldn't do much.

Her sobs became louder, and she whispered Sasuke's name to herself, probably far, far away… Her hands were clenched in her lap, and her body was rigid, trying to stop the flood of sadness.

This was pathetic. I'm so glad no-one else is around to see me like this; Ino would probably laugh.

Just as Lee leaned closer, probably to give her a hand on the shoulder, Sakura spoke.

She sniffed, rubbed her nose; looked up, laughed again, than said; "I'm so pathetic, aren't I?! A ninja should never show emotion- Sasuke is my greatest weakness… and I can't control it. I'm not ready to let go of him… I still have hope left, I know he will come back, I know it…-"

Lee smiled sadly to himself. He hated Sasuke for putting Sakura through this pain, but he didn't hate Sasuke. Love and Pain go together, but when you're in love, the latter doesn't seem so important.

_He might be her greatest weakness… Sasuke-kun has the power to hurt Sakura-san in a way no one else can. I would do anything for Sakura-san, just as she would do anything for Sasuke-kun… that is why Sasuke is also her greatest strength!_

"Sakura-san… don't cry." Lee put an arm around her back, drawing her into a comforting hug. "I know it must be hard, losing someone like that. But I believe he will come back soon- You and Naruto will bring him back."

Sakura nodded, still thinking about all the times Sasuke had spoken to her, all the little things he did. His habits, strengths…

Holding Lee closer, it didn't all seem so bad. Maybe he was right- she could bring Naruto back. Naruto had the strength to change lives, and she knew there was no doubt in his mind about what he was going to do.

Lee patted her back friendlily. Somehow… embracing Sakura didn't feel at all awkward like he thought it would be. Sakura hadn't flinched, or drawn back- all she needed in this time was a friend.

"Sasuke-kun has a lot of things on his mind. When I went to find him, the day he left-" Sakura gave an involuntary muscle twitch. "-I could tell by the gleam in Naruto-kun's eyes, he was going to do everything he could to bring Sasuke back. When Kakashi found him… and brought Naruto-kun back, he looked half-dead."

The wind rustled through Sakura's pink hair, than on through Lee's jet-black hair. He still wore it in a bowl-cut, but it didn't look so bad.

Sakura laughed to herself, thinking about how getting used to Lee's hair was simple compared to getting used to Ino's ugly mug.

Than she smiled. Sakura knew Ino had the same feelings for Sasuke, and even though she was her rival- she somehow always wished Ino good luck. Anyway- they had been with each other through thick and thin.

"We all did everything we could- sometimes… you can't stop someone. Sasuke-kun might be far away, training to become stronger too- but I think… that, after it's all over and done with, Sasuke-kun knows deep in his heart that this is where he belongs. Back in Konoha… with people who love him."

Lee's warm Chuunin vest brought the life back into Sakura's cold skin. It felt good- having someone to cry on. Someone she knew would do anything for her; but not only that, Sakura thought about how it felt good just to have a trustworthy friend. Lee would always be ready by her side, and she loved him dearly.

While Lee closed his eyes wishing that the hug would help, Sakura's mind was like a thick fog, ideas and hopes swirling around her. Both didn't see each other smile. Another tear rolled down her face, splattering over Lee's green vest.

_I still love him… I won't let Sasuke go, but while I am still here, I should do my best. I have good friends with me… Kakashi-sensei, __Ino-chan__… Lee-san, __Tenten-chan__, even __Hinata-chan__ is nice. Tsunade-sama trusts me; and everyone in Konoha is looking up to my generation. What choices will we make?_

_I should stand firm and train hard_- Sakura released Lee from the embrace, and he wiped her cheeks with his bandaged hands. He smiled, knowing with all his heart she would get through this.

_-__Sasuke needs me._


End file.
